Wednesday, November 30, 2016

THE GROUNDS 5 THIS IS A CASTLE.

5
THIS IS A CASTLE. This small court features in its center a very
small castle (less than a foot high) surrounded by a tiny moat. Near
the entrance to each pathway in the hedge maze there is a signpost
that reads “This is a castle.”

This
castle belongs to Wandra Triskelion. Years ago she used powerful
magic to turn herself into a part-plant and now she wields unusual
powers. Wandra is obsessed with her own appearance and very greedy.
She is always eager to welcome new people into her castle … so she
can turn them into vegetable people. While she has been telling her
vegetable people that she is raising an army to conquer The Grounds,
she has actually been using them to make delicious juices in the
dungeon level of this castle. She believes that juices and soups
made from vegetable men will prolong her life span and make her more
beautiful.

If
the party attempts to ally with Wandra Triskelion, her response will
largely be based on her reaction roll. For her part, Wandra is
trying to lure more humans, demi-humans, and humanoids to her castle
so she can turn them into juice. An agreement with her would likely
entail the characters luring new victims into her castle. Wandra is
extremely narcissistic and will see herself as the superior partner
in any agreement. She will be difficult and demand new concessions
regularly.

If
the adventurers assault the castle and then retire before defeating
Wandra, there will be relatively little change between one encounter
and the next. The chaotic nature of the inhabitants leads them to
somewhat lax security. Nevertheless, Wandra is personally very
intelligent and will respond to a real or perceived threat by posting
pea head guards at the front gate and surrounding her self with more
pea heads and vegetable men.

The
pea heads are not a product of her magic, but a race of
plant-humanoids indigenous to The Grounds. The serve Wandra because
she supplies them with vegetable men for food and occasionally leads
them into The Grounds on raids to satisfy the pea heads blood lust.

The
vegetable men are ignorant of their role as food and drink to Wandra
and the pea heads. They believe they are citizens of the castle with
the same status as the pea heads. On being transformed into plant
people, most succumb to Wandra's charm power. Those few that are
not, such as Gratinati at Area 3, usually flee or are captured and
dragged to the dungeons. The vegetable men who inhabit the castle
are forbidden to enter the dungeon area unless escorted by pea heads.
Those who are led into the dungeon emerge only later as food and
drink.

If
the party can convince the vegetable men that they are really being
exploited and turned into food and drink, they will likely revolt
against Wandra and the pea heads. If shown evidence of Wandra's
perfidy, such as the book in Room 5Q or the presses in Room 5U, each
vegetable man will get an immediate saving throw vs spells at +4. If
they succeed then they will join the adventurers. If they fail then
they remain loyal.

The
castle and the items in the castle are decorated with messages
written in paint or carved into the structure. Each label reads
“This is a _______”, with the blank part being the name of the
item in question, such as “This is a door”, “This is a chair”,
or “This is a sword.” The reason for this is that the vegetable
people are very stupid and need to be reminded frequently what things
are so they can use them properly.

If
any person approaches the castle, it will appear to grow larger and
larger until it is a life-size two story building. What is really
happening, however, is that the castle is not growing but the
characters and their belongings are shrinking. A observant person
will notice that the hedges surrounding the court are expanding to
gargantuan proportions around them.

When
inside the structure of the castle, size stays the same. A six foot
tall person is about an inch tall at the castle. With the reduction
in size there is an associated effect. Anyone who falls takes no
falling damage because their mass is now so small that wind
resistance is a factor. Also, because the surface area to volume
ration of the characters has changed so markedly, they will now be
much more sensitive to small changes in temperature. This is
especially noticeable when entering the dungeon portion (Rooms 5R to
5U).